Another year, another NBA season starting, another NBA 2K game that establishes the position of this basketball game series as the best in its field (perhaps because it has no competitors).
And yes, also more questions about whether you really have to pay full price for a product that is more or less an update of its counterpart from last year.
No matter how you look at it, as much as NBA 2K23 is a good, spectacular, fun and polished basketball game - and believe us it really is - it is still another link in the chain of regular annual upgrades of the series.
Isn't it appropriate to offer the game in two versions - one that is sold at full price to those who don't have the previous title in the series, and one that is offered at a reduced price, as an update that puts on the 22nd edition?
It's a question that we're not the only ones asking, but it doesn't seem like 2K Sports is planning to change its game plan, literally.
A good place in the middle.
Avdia in the Washington Quintet,
Heida Danny
Be that as it may, again this year we waited until the real NBA league started and the latest NBA 2K patch was available for download, so that the team rosters would be up to date as of the opening whistle of the season.
It's good that we waited, because now you can finally see Danny Avdia in Washington's starting five, an exciting position that was absent when the game was launched before the start of the league.
now come
In terms of net gameplay, apart from some tweaks and minor changes, it's more or less the same game.
After a few dozen matches, we did discover that it is a bit more difficult to score from a distance and from half distance, since you have to release the shot button with perfect timing to hear the desired swish.
At first it kind of frustrated us, but then - well, who are we working for?
It still frustrates us.
Assuming you're not playing on the lowest difficulty, it's harder to make field goals in NBA 2K23, period.
Another thing we've noticed is the increased tendency of basketball players to step on the sideline and get whistled when they dribble near it, perhaps to punish gamers who often use this trick to avoid guards.
Legitimate, but all this in a small way.
The bottom line - there are no significant deviations from the old and familiar formula of the series, for better or worse.
The same graphics, almost the same control, photography: none
23 Boom
As requested, all the main game modes of NBA 2K return this time as well, including the narrative career mode (MyCareer) in which you have to accompany a young player as he makes his way in the NBA on the way to winning the championship (excellent, assuming you have dozens of hours to invest in it);
MyTeam mode where you build a dream team by collecting player cards that can be purchased with real money (we've always opposed microtransactions in games, so we'll defiantly ignore them this time too);
And there is a respectable stage for the WNBA - the women's league of the NBA - with all the teams, players and courts.
Back when he had hair.
"Jordan Challenge" mode,
Now comes the good news: for the first time in over a decade, the "Jordan Challenge" mode returns to NBA 2K.
For those who haven't been around since 2010, this situation allows us to step into the shoes of the best basketball player in history and scorch the floor in 15 of the most memorable games of his career.
Follow Michael from being a promising college player in 1982, through his participation in the 1988 All-Star Game, to the championship series with the Chicago Bulls, capped by the "Last Dance" game against Utah in 1998.
Each challenge is basically a game that requires you to complete some objectives with Jordan (win the game, score a minimum of points and grab a minimum of rebounds), and we found ourselves plowing through this mode non-stop.
And pay attention to this: the historical games are presented as they were seen on television in those decades, with outdated graphics and pixelated and grainy filters suitable for broadcasts of that time.
Remember the NBA broadcasts on the Middle East channel ("Lebanon") in the eighties?
So just like that.
Final whistle
All in all and quite predictably, NBA 2K23 is the ultimate basketball package for consoles and PC.
Although the game does not innovate too much in terms of gameplay, what it does - it (still) does excellently, and the "Jordan Challenge" is a welcome addition that will definitely charm the fans of his aerial power.
If this is enough for you, you will not be disappointed.
were we wrong
We will fix it!
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